1. Field
The present disclosure relates to locking support assemblies for supporting casino chairs and locking such chairs to gaming machines or other fixed locations.
2. Description of Related Art
Casino operators often desire chairs for gaming machines, such as, for example, slot machines, to be attached to the machine or to a location adjacent to the machine. This promotes a more orderly and safer casino by preventing inappropriate use or movement of casino chairs. Many jurisdictions require casino operators to use fixed or attached chairs. At the same time, casino chairs are expected to be both comfortable and exceptionally durable, maintaining an attractive appearance despite heavy, continuous use. Such fixed casino chairs are indeed constructed with heavy-duty materials and are quite durable, but must nonetheless be removed from their fixed locations from time-to-time, to facilitate relocating or servicing the gaming machines and maintenance or repair of the chair or adjacent facilities.
Various chair support assemblies therefore have been developed to attach a casino chair to a gaming machine in a removable fashion. One such assembly 100 is shown in FIG. 1. A casino chair 102 may thereby be readily fixed relative to the gaming machine, and easily relocated with it. Such support assemblies may use a floorplate 104 (sometimes referred to as a “sled”) running between a column support 106 for the chair and a stabilizing bracket 108 that is attached to the base of the gaming machine. The stabilizing bracket may be fixed to the sled and attached to the gaming machine using conventional fasteners, for example, machine screws or bolts. Besides attaching the chair 102 to a game machine, the bracket 108 resists pitching forces, as indicated by arrow 101, and yawing forces as indicated by arrow 103. Twisting forces around the column 106 axis are generally minimal for swiveling chairs as commonly used in the industry.
To facilitate removal and reassembly of the sled from the gaming machine without requiring removal or installation of screw-type fasteners, various assemblies in which the sled and bracket are joined using various screwless locks have been developed. These sled/bracket assemblies are available in two general types: non-locking assemblies and locking assemblies.
Non-locking assemblies often use an upturned lip or flange along the leading edge of the sled distal from the chair column to engage with a complementary downturned flange along the stabilizing bracket. The bracket may be attached to the gaming machine using screws, bolts, or other fasteners. To engage the floorplate and chair, the chair is lifted to cause the floorplate to pivot upwards around its leading edge, thereby tilting the upturned flange downwards until it can be inserted under the downturned flange of the bracket. The chair can then be lowered to engage the opposing flanges and thereby secure the floorplate into position.
Locking assemblies provide the additional security of a specially shaped key to disengage the floorplate from the stabilizing bracket, preventing unauthorized removal. Prior art locking assemblies include those that use a vertically sliding latch, or a rotating pawl, housed in the stabilizing bracket to engage with a receiving surface of the floor plate. Actuation of the latch or pawl using a special tool or key is required to disengage the floorplate from the bracket. The floorplate may then be removed from the bracket by pulling outward while the latch is retracted, thereby pulling the floorplate out of engagement with latch or pawl. Depending on the design, lifting of the chair to tilt the floorplate may also be required. Locking occurs when the floorplate is slid into position into the bracket until the operation of a spring forces the vertical sliding latch or the protruding arm of the rotating pawl against the receiving surface of the floorplate.
Notwithstanding the advantages of prior art locking and non-locking support assemblies, they are subject to certain disadvantages. Locking assemblies generally require precise alignment between the latch mechanisms in the bracket and the receiving surfaces in the floorplate, but are not structured to facilitate quick and easy alignment of the locking surfaces while handling the casino chair and support plate. In addition, some prior art designs require pulling and/or tilting the floorplate while simultaneously operating a key, making removal of the floorplate more cumbersome than desired. It is desirable, therefore, to overcome these and other limitations of the prior art by providing an improved locking support assembly for a casino chair.